A small structural change from last year: The Cardinals are bringing each player through the curtain and down the corridor to talk with the trainer before or after their sessions. As a result, Daniel Descalso wandered down the hall and through the curtain while myself and a fellow blogger were just settling in. Dirty Dan stopped for just a moment to discuss the second base job with us and building on his successes last year.

Q: Do you feel like you're that guy to beat (at 2nd base) this year?

A: I feel like the situation's very similar to last year where you're throwing a few names out there for second base. A lot can be said but at the end of the day I gotta' go out there and take care of business and go out there and perform and the rest will take care of itself. I'm not too worried about what people are saying - this guy and this guy and this guy. I'm just worried about what I can control and that's showing up ready to play.

Q: You took a big step forward, defensively, last year. Did you do anything to take an even bigger step forward this year over the offseason?

A: I'm just trying to keep the same offseason program that I had last year and the last couple years. Just working strength and conditioning, working on my jumps and my breaks. I've worked hard on my defense over the years. It was one of the weaker parts of my game coming into pro baseball, and I think I've done a good job of steadily improving every year and hopefully do the same thing this year.

Q: Did you change anything, offensively, that contributed to that offensive hot streak you experienced last year?

A: I had a lot of struggles last year offensively, but working with Big Mac and Mabes through the middle part of towards the end of the year, I worked on a lot of different stuff and made some adjustments to break some bad habits. Really, down the stretch in the playoffs, I felt a lot more comfortable - having some better at-bats, squaring up the ball better - so I'm just trying to build on that momentum and bring that into spring training and into the season.

Q: Are you excited to work with Mabry?

A: Oh yeah, Mabes is great. We're gonna' miss Mark, but we're excited that John's going to step in and it's going to be a seamless transition.

The BBA has, as a secondary aim, the goal of producing year-end
awards in a similar fashion to the Baseball Writers of America. These
awards can be found at the official site in October with links back to the voters,
ensuring transparency and, most likely, the onset of some good baseball
arguments.